They Told a Family They Should Fly Private After a Dispute on a Plane. Are They a Jerk?

People sure are getting testy on airplanes these days, aren’t they?

That’s why I put on my huge headphones when I fly and don’t say a word to anyone…but that’s just me.

Check out this story from Reddit’s “Am I the A**hole?” page and see if you think this person was out of line for how they behaved on a flight.

AITA for telling a family to fly private?

“I was recently flying from NYC to LAX for a work trip and I had the displeasure of sitting next to a family and a little boy (9).

I got on the plane in the midst of issues with my diabetes and I needed to eat within two hours so I began snacking. I immediately began receiving dirty looks from the parents and the mother said “can you not do that? Our son.” so I put my food away and figured I’d wait until the flight attendant came around so I could buy food from her and eat at an acceptable time just to show some respect for their wishes.

So the flight attendant comes by with her beverages and snacks, I start to ask for a Coke and a snack box, but before I can finish the sentence the father says “nothing for this row, we’re all set here” and she continues on.

I go up to press the call light so I can get my food and my drink because I actually need it and the father says “our son has prader-willi, we’d prefer it if you didn’t eat because it causes tantrums when he doesn’t know he can’t eat and he’s always hungry”.

I’m close to a tantrum myself at this point and so I look him in the eye and say “I do not care, fly private if you want to control your surroundings”.

The flight attendant comes back and I get my food and my drink, I snarf it down and chug my soda, and I sit back. As soon as I’m calmed and I’m able to open my laptop and get back to work the mother leans in and says “I feel a calling to educate you about my son’s disease” and I felt my entire body clench up.

She keeps talking to me and explaining how I’d made her son feel and I said “listen lady, I don’t f**king care, I’m going to handle my T1D the way I see fit and you’re going to handle your son the way you see fit. I’m not endangering myself because you don’t want to deal with a tantrum, if you want to control other people then you book all the seats in a row or you f**king fly private.”

I recounted the story to a friend of mine once I’d gotten off the plane and she immediately told me that I was a huge AH and I should’ve given them a little bit of grace due to their son’s condition. I kind of feel bad but at the same time, I think that it’s unavoidable if you’re going into public and you’re around others.

AITA?”